What do you guys think of reed college? general impressions?
It’s a grad school prep college sending one of the highest percentages of grads on to a PhD. Quite liberal, heavy work load like Swarthmore and UChicago. Required senior thesis.
^Good synopsis.
Thanks!
I’d agree with vonlost as to what the end game is for Reedies. Most are looking for higher degrees, and many want to pursue employment in academia.
The typical Reed student has a 3.9 GPA and scores over 2000 on the SAT, but more important than those qualifications is the student’s passion for learning for learning sake. Intellectuals and social reformers go to Reed. Students that didn’t quite fit into the traditional student mold in high school are welcome.
Gender neutral bathrooms, vegan menu, all classes (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior) live in the dorms together, classes are small and discussion based make Reed a unique learning environment. Portland, Oregon is considered a very liberal place, and even most Portlanders would agree - Reed is different. It’s not a degree mill and traditional grading is not used. It’s not a place for students looking to engage in collegiate team sports programs or Greek life - neither exist there. It’s a unique community that students either love or couldn’t imagine joining. Every senior presents a thesis and must pass an oral exam that may have questions from any of the classes taken while at Reed - before graduation.
This is my daughter’s 1st choice, and we’ve visited twice. Once for the tour, and the second time for an interview. While interviews are not necessary, I think they do help both the prospective student to ask questions and the Reed admissions staff to learn of the prospie’s interest level - putting a face to the application.
We know two students who currently attend Reed. One is transgender. Both students love it there, and both of them had 100% of their financial need met; much of it through Reed’s generous grant monies.
Reed is beautiful, funky and highly challenging academically. It’s not for everyone, but if the fit is right, it seems to be almost magical. (It does look a bit like Hogwarts too.)
Do you guys know of any colleges similar to Reed in terms of inclusiveness (within their own community of course), liberal feel, and a good reputation of sending kids to grad school?
I think there are a LOT of colleges with those characteristics.
It’s almost impossible to know exactly what it will feel like once you get here before you do. Just talking about the basics, all of my professors are amazing educators, and I’m guessing amazing people. You really have to stay on top of things if you want to get As in your courses, or sometimes just decent grades (It’s not a good plan to wake up at 8 AM to start your physics problem set and work on it through hum lecture, something I’ve done a few times). I will say that it’s very easy to stay on campus. I went into downtown Portland a few times my first month here, but since then, I have often not left campus for more than two weeks (I did go on a trip to the Oregon coast last month and it was amazing).
Yes, it’s very liberal here, but I don’t think most people here have a problem with that. There’s a very considerate community when it comes to respecting the needs of others. I don’t see as many actual communists as I expected. I bet most people here are a mix of social democrats and democratic socialists.
It may take time for you to develop an external identity and consistently participate in an organization. I showed up for a couple meetings of Diversify, one of our activist and social justice groups, but I ended up not attending more meetings just because of circumstance and the general haze and craze of the first month of college.
With regard to drugs, they exist and they’re not hard to get. No one pressures you at all to take them, and no one gives anyone a hard time for taking them. The school makes sure that there’s a safe environment. Yes, weed is illegal for those under 21 here, as is alcohol and other drugs, and while you might get an AOD (Alcohol and Other Drug) violation if caught by a campus safety officer, the school cares a lot more about your safety. The Students for Sensible Drug Policy have free testing kits available (you place some of the drug in a canister and the color of the chemical reaction tells you what it is) to make sure that those who choose to take molly at parties are not taking bath salts or other misrepresented synthetic drugs. They also provide you with supplements so you don’t feel horrible for a few weeks afterwards.
Do I love this school? I do. I think it’s a great place for me. Do I think I would love any other school? If I went there, confirmation bias would probably have some effect, like it probably does now, and I’d love it there too. I think I chose Reed for important reasons.
You will find friends here who care about you as long as you’re a decent human being (most people are, I think) and you care about them.
The food here is very good for a college. Seriously, while there might not be infinite options, you can usually have a high quality meal every day.
Also memes. Not everyone participates in meme culture here but it’s something you could get into.
I might have more to say at some point. High school is a huge bubble and college is very different.
Edit: I forgot to mention the canyon.
It is almost absurd that I go to a college that has an outstandingly beautiful 22 acre canyon and lake right through the middle of it. It has been such a great resource for times I have been stressed out, times I just want to chill alone, or times I want to walk with friends. The streams and paths and nature is so peaceful and wonderful. I think I’ve walked all of it, but I definitely haven’t stayed for a while in every spot yet. It’s great for reading and for thinking. There are nutrias and ducks and cranes in the lake, and on the paths there are cats, squirrels, and chipmunks. Often people run there with their dogs. The canyon is one of my favorite parts about Reed.
@Cosmological It sounds as if you’re a physics major, am I right? I’m sorry if I’m wrong, but I’m actually interested in Reed’s physics program, and from all of the reading I’ve done, Reed sounds like an awesome college. About the physics program, then again if I’m wrong I apologize, but is it substantial?
You don’t need to apologize. I have a problem where I say sorry too much, and it would be pretty weird if anyone was offended if you either guessed their major wrong/wrongly guessed their major was substantial.
I am a physics major, and yes, the program is pretty substantial. I have my 2nd midterm in 7 hours, and I’m probably not going to sleep (I woke up at 4 PM, so that’s sort of ok, but definitely not healthy). Even intro physics is pretty hard, but if you do your work, it’s fine. I’m only a first year student, so I haven’t taken more than 101 and 102, but from what I can tell, it’s very very good.
Not to claim that I know you, but confidence is a good thing in physics, or Reed in general. Things get very stressful (It’s been stressful for me the whole year, but I am one data point). It’s good to step back sometimes and qualify your statements as non-assumptive, but often you just have to dive in with conviction to get things done. I don’t know why I’m trying to psychoanalyze your comment and make a motivational point off of it, but maybe that’s because it’s 2:50 AM.
I think if you come to Reed, you might love hum 110 as well. I do, even though I don’t always do the reading, which is an understatement, and conference is really awesome as a place to hone your argumentative skills (Not necessarily in speech though, more in constructing arguments).
Also, looking at this current round of admissions, I should probably study hard for my physics midterm. I probably wouldn’t have gotten in if I applied this year. Good luck with everything.
Tip: DON’T FALL BEHIND IN MATH 112 INTRO TO ANALYSIS. It’s so much work.
Thanks! I’m starting to seriously consider Reed as a possible college to go to. Do you know anything about their Dual-Degree program? I hear it’s 5 years, and as a sophomore in highschool I don’t really understand all this college stuff as of yet.
So basically if it’s a five year program, if I want to get a Physics and Aerospace Engineering dual thingy and get maybe a doctorate in physics, I lose a year to pursue my physics degree? Maybe a physics and aerospace master?
I’m pretty confused about all of this stuff, actually.
One apparent problem with dual-degree is leaving Reed at the end of junior year, leaving your best friends and the environment. Physics PhD is usually done without an intervening Masters; adding aero engineering sounds tough. The fields are quite different. You have plenty of time to figure this out. 
Grinnell is similar in many ways.
There isn’t really anyplace quite like Reed, they have carved out their own niche. I don’t see Grinnell as that similar (size and LAC, but not really the same vibe). Here is some info on Reed’s grad school results – there is a column for Physics, and they do quite well:
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/the-colleges-where-phds-get-their-start/
Carleton is probably more “Reed-like” than anyplace else on the Physics list. Lawrence is solid in Physics and an LAC, but a little preppier than Reed or Carleton.
The biggest issue with the 3/2 program is that you have to know you want to do it from day one and work closely with your advisor to pick the right courses. The course requirements are substantial and pretty daunting for the average freshman; at Reed freshmen are told to take less classes and explore different fields, but you can’t afford to do that if you want to qualify for one of the engineering programs.
lol, the difficulty of Intro to Analysis depends on the professor you take it with … I found it fine.